By Katie Heffring
Two robins in a tree spend twenty minutes talking to each other
Their song, unique and expressive
Through the tree, I see my city and my province and search for humanity
The links of a chain reveal all
A violent series of images stream in my brain -
The hammer of repression
The collapse of a naked helpless body
The barrel of a gun
The mourning of responsibility -
My head forcefully pounds
Where am I?
Focus on the robins
They are an emblem of instinct
The season is spring and they call to breed
The robin’s babies are born naked and helpless
They cannot survive without another
So is the cycle
What if the robins lost that altruistic instinct?
I imagine death.
Through the trees, I see my city and my province and search for humanity
What if we lost that altruistic instinct?
I imagine death.
